NATO to build largest European base near Ukraine

A $2.7 billion project to transform the air base in the village of Mihail Kogălniceanu in Romania began earlier this year. The base, which has been used by the US military since 1999, is expected to be the size of a small city and will be able to accommodate 10,000 NATO personnel and their families, according to Business Insider , citing previous information from Euro News Romania.

Two US Apache attack helicopters during an exercise held at the airbase in Mihail Kogalniceanu (Romania) on March 31, 2023.

Screenshot Balkaninsight.com/

Nicolae Crețu, commander of the air base at Mihail Kogălniceanu, told Euro News Romania that the expanded facility would require “maintenance hangars, fuel depots, ammunition, equipment, aeronautical engineering materials, simulators, catering facilities, accommodation”.

A squadron of Romanian F-16 fighter jets recently purchased from Norway, as well as MQ-9 Reaper drones, will soon arrive at the base in Mihail Kogălniceanu, about 12 miles (19 km) off the Black Sea coast, according to the BBC.

Earlier, NATO announced that seven Finnish Air Force F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets also landed at the base in Mihail Kogălniceanu on June 3 to conduct "training and real-time sorties along the eastern flank on the Black Sea coast".

The US presence at the base in Mihail Kogălniceanu is also being increased, a pilot told the BBC.

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“The Mihail Kogălniceanu base will become NATO’s most important permanent military facility within the conflict zone in southern Ukraine,” Dorin Popescu, a geopolitical analyst, previously told Euronews.

“Let's not imagine that this conflict will end this year, in 2025 or 2026. It is a long-term conflict,” said Mr. Popescu.

Meanwhile, several Russian politicians have issued stern warnings about the Mihail Kogălniceanu base conversion project. Andrey Klimov, deputy chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Federation Council of Russia (the upper house of parliament), previously warned that the Mihail Kogălniceanu base is a "threat" to Romania, according to Business Insider .

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nato-se-dat-can-cu-lon-nhat-chau-au-gan-ukraine-185240624105942461.htm